Rapid improvement of fish raising technologies (aquaculture) in 1980s has prompted a significant increase of high value or quality fishery products from aquaculture farms even in Korea starting from early part of 1990s (total mariculture fishery products in 1997: 39,121 tons), and demand and consumption of live fish (the word “fish” is used herein to include fin fish such as halibuts, crustaceans such as crabs, and shellfish such as clams and other aquatic animals) has greatly increased partially due to increased personal income. However, current domestic circulation of aquatic fisheries products including live fishery products depends on low density (approximately 15-20% of total weight) transportation systems using trucks equipped with water filled tanks which results in many associated distributional problems including difficulty in maintaining freshness due to delay in delivery caused by transportation problems such as traffic congestion; expensive transportation cost due to high fuel/labor costs and distance from farm and final consumers; and spoiled taste when the live fish is hauled long distances over land.
The typical methods of transporting such marine animals including live fish can be broadly categorized into four types, that is, (1) anesthetic transport, (2) electric shock transport, (3) cooling tank transport, and (4) artificial (dormant state of) hibernation transport.
To be more specific, one such recent system and method for transporting the live fish are described in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0232408 entitled as “high density transport method of live fish using cooled water”, in which water, ice and salt are filled into a live fish water tank, and the temperature of water therein is cooled by 5˜15 degrees Celsius lower than the typical transport water temperature.
Other systems and methods are disclosed, for example, in Korea Patent Registration No. 10-0531728 entitled as “icy sea water cooling apparatus for live cuttlefish transport and storage” in which an icy seawater cooling apparatus is proposed for storage and transportation of cuttlefish in icy state of low temperature. Korea Patent Registration No. 10-0046109 entitled as “method and apparatus for storage and transportation of live fish” provides that a tank with several holes is maintained in low temperature for accommodating in each hole one or more fish to protect live fish from being bodily injuries and restraining the fish from moving freely.
However, as all these disclosures basically require a method for lowering temperature of water tank containing live fish, there are still problems in the live fish tank transportation methods of distributing live consumables with truck delivery system for domestic as well as foreign consumptions (hereinafter referred to as “tank transport”). Such specialized equipment for distribution is costly, and uncertainties of low temperature environment also have surfaced for various kinds of fish. In addition, high mortality of live fish persists during the long haul of transportation over land. Furthermore, the anesthetic transport method may cause hygienic safety problems and abhorrence. Another method such as the electric shock transport method may also pose a difficulty in pre-treatment, high morality rate, and deteriorated flesh quality of live fish.